Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Buys Shares of 8,616 Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,827 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,285 shares of the company's stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 178,635 shares of the company's stock worth $14,014,000 after purchasing an additional 65,070 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.8 %

PFG stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.40. 1,399,621 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,142,098. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.48. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is -324.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.67.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.